The Hardest Question
by TaraYuki-Uesugi
Summary: Dad, why do I look....different?" One day Yuki is asked the hardest question. What will his answer be to Kaoru? Shindou-Uesugi family. One Shot. Yuki and Kaoru. Enjoy!


TaraYuki-Uesugi here. This is just something I thought up while I was away but i just finished it today. It's cute and we find out why Kaoru's so vain. I think this is the shortest one shot I've ever done lol KOOL! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I wish!

And now...on with the show...

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"We're home!" 

Yuki heard the usual yell and then the pitter-patter of feet running toward his study. Moments later the door flew open to reveal two of his three children.

"Dad!" Meiko and Keisuke cried as they ran into his arms. Yuki smiled and patted their heads."How was school?" he asked. "It was great! Today we learned the numbers 5, 6 and 7!" Meiko cried. This was her first year in school, in kindgerten. "We're learning double digit multiplication, it's easy" The twins are in third grade .

Shuichi leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed across his chest."Ok guys, that's enough disturding your dad. Megumi left you a snack in the kitchen. Go eat before you start your homework"

"Ok. I bet I can beat you to the kitchen " Meiko challenged.

"No you cant!"

"Wait, I wasn't ready! You CHEATED!"

Shuichi chuckled and closed the door behind the kids. He walked over to Yuki and sat in the empty seat next to him. Yuki began typing again. "Where's Kaoru?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the screen. Shuichi frowned."He didn't have a good day today. I asked him what was wrong but he wouldnt tell me. But Keisuke said that the other kids in the class have been giving him a hard time, beacuse of the way he looks."

Yuki froze. His fingers hovered over the keys of his laptop.He knew the day would come when this would happen but he had pushed it to the back of his mind. Kaoru was now eight years old and never had the problem risen before. He thought maybe, just maybe, his son had escaped the curse of feeling different. Maybe his little boy didn't have to suffer the way he had. But fate was cruel and Yuki knew that.

Immediately memories filled his head. Kids pointing and laughing at him, being picked last for school activities, bullies throwing small rocks at him...He shook his head to rid his mind of the thoughts. "So why don't you talk to him.?" Yuki asked casually and resumed typing. Shuichi noticed his husband's expression and knew that he must have been reliving his past.He knew that calm exterior was a fake."Well, I think it would be best if you spoke to him"

"Why?"

"Because...because you can relate to him. You've expreienced what he's going through. I haven't. It would mean more if you spoke to him."

Yuki didn't want to admit it but he knew Shuichi was right.He always thought that if someone like him had spoken to him about his "problem" he might have been able to stay Japan for schooling. And maybe _that_ wouldn't have...

Yuki shook his head again, stopped typing and stood up suddenly. Shuichi was a little taken aback at the sudden movement. "Where is he?" He asked pulling a much needed cigarette from the open pack on the desk and lighting it .

"In the living room. He wont eat. He's just sitting there on the couch looking blank"

"Fine"

Shuichi smiled. He got up and walked to the door. With his hand on the door knob, he turned around, smiled, whispered a "Thanks" and left. Yuki sighed as he finished up his cigarette. This had to be the hardest thing he ever had to do.

He walked out of the study and into the living room. He could hear Shuichi and the kids playing in the kitchen. And there sat Kaoru on the couch. He looked so small on that big, black leather couch. Like it would swallow him up at any moment. His head hung low and he looked lost in thought.

"I'm gonna play first!"

"No way, I'm older so I'll play first!"

Shuichi,Meiko and Keisuke were now leaving the kitchen. Shuichi looked at Yuki, gave a weak smile and a nod. "No one's playing anything until after their homework is finished. Now c'mon, you have to wash your hands first" He placed a hind on their shoulders and steered them in the direction of the bathroom.

"Isn't Kaoru coming?" Keisuke asked stoping to look at his brother on the couch. "Not at the moment. He'll join us a little later." Keisuke looked at his brother, worry written all over his face.

"I bet I can beat you to the bathroom?" Shuichi challanged, trying to grab Keisuke's attention.

Keisuke whipped around "No you ca...Hey! Daddy you cheated!" He took off after Shuichi.

"No fair! You both cheated!" Meiko followed behind them.

The living room was now silent. Yuki sighed and took a seat next to Kaoru.They were there for awhile just sitting in silence until Kaoru broke down and started crying in his father's lap.It surprised Eiri,the sudden outburst, and his heart wrentched as he watched his son's body rake with sobs on his lap. He remembered he did the same thing everyday after school when he was younger. He wished he had somone he could talk to then , but he was always alone. He refused to let his son go through the same thing.

Eiri stroked Kaoru's hair lovingly and allowed him to cry for as long as he needed. After twenty minutes, Kaoru calmed down and wiped his eyes. "Now that you're done ruining my Versace pants with tears and snot, you wanna tell me what's wrong?" Eiri tried to sound annoyed, but his small smile gave away his true feelings.

Kaoru looked up from his dad's leg and wiped his nose on his sleeve. Yuki looked into puffy red eyes identical to his own_.'No they're not identical to mine'_ he thought to himself. ' _His still have warmth and joy, unlike mine. I wont allow anyone to take that away from him' _

Kaoru lowered his head and fumbled with the hem of his shirt. "Dad, why do I look...different?" Oh yeah, this was definetly the hardest thing he ever had to do. Eiri wasn't very good at this kind of stuff, but he vowed he'd try his best.

Eiri sighed. "Honestly,I don't know why. For some reason I was born with light hair and eyes. Your aunt Mika decided to do some research years ago because she too wanted to know. She found out that there was only one other person in our family who had hair and eyes like ours. Your great-great-great-great-great grandmother. Nobody knows why exactly, she was just born that way. We come from a very long line of monks. Maybe it's a monk thing or a curse. I don't know" Eiri shrugged." Why do you ask? Have people been giving you a hard time because you look a little different?"

Kaoru nodded. "They ask me if I'm mixed or if I was adopted. I tell them no and the call me a liar. They say me and Keisuke can't be twins 'cuz I look too much like a freak to be his brother.They tell me I'm not Japanese and that I'm a half-breed. What is a half-breed anyway? Dad, was I really adopted? Is Keisuke really my brother? And how can I be Japanese.? I dont _look_ it. Dad, are you even Japanese? I look like _you_. "

Eiri couldn't help but let out a small laugh.This all sounded so familiar.

"Let me start by saying you are not mixed. You are one hundred percentJapanese and so am I. No you are not adopted. If you were, you wouldn't look like me and you wouldn't babble like an idiot. You get that from Shuichi. A half-breed is someone who's mixed. Now, we've already established that you're one hundred percent Japanese so tell those kids in your class to shove it. Yes, you and Keisuke are twins, which in turn, makes you brothers. You guys are faternal, but you _are_ twins." Yuki sat and watched his son's reaction. He seemed to be thinking eveything over.

Silence-

"I wish I didn't look the way I do" Kaoru said.

Yuki frowned. He used to say the same thing over and over again. He thought about what he would have wanted someone to say to him back then.

"Why the hell not? You should be proud of your looks."

Kaoru shook his head "Nuh-uh. People always look at me and the kids at school are mean to me. I hate the way I look" Tears once again threatened to fall from his eyes.

"So. Fuck them" Kaoru looked at his dad confused. "Fuck them. Who cares what they think or say."

"But I_ do _care!"

"Why?" Kaoru thought about that. Why did he care? He really couldn't answer that question."Why do you care what people think? You shouldn't be worried about what people think. Their opinions mean nothing to you. Besides" Yuki looked at his son. " You look like me which means you're hott" he smirked.

"Hott?"

"Yeah, hott.Look, let me explain it better.Those people that are mean to you are most likely jealous of you"

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, jealous. They're just pissed off cuz you're so good looking.Women and sometimes men, practically throw themselves at me. You know, ask me out and try to kiss me and stuff" Yuki added, seeing the confused look on his son's face.

"Ewwwww!"

"Tell me about it. Anyway, people are jealous of attractive people like us because we can have anyone we want. How do you think I got daddy?"

"Cuz you're so handsome?"

"Exactly"

"Well actually, all the girls in my class always give me these." Kaoru walked over to his backpack on the floor near the door and pulled out a stack of cards with hearts and teddybears all over them. "Actually, this one is the reason I had that fight with Shinji": He pulled out a red card from the stack with a pink heart on it and handed it to Yuki. Yuki just stared at it amused.

"It was from a girl Shinji likes. I told him he could have it but he said "That's not the point"" Kaoru shrugged

_'Jealous guys already, huh?'_ Yuki thought to himself. _' He's gonna be just like me' _

"Well see, he was jealous because the girl he liked likes you and not him" Kaoru sat back down next to his father looking rather enlightened. "See. So there's no reason for you to hate the way you look. You're my damn brat and that means you're one of the pretty people"

Kaoru looked at his dad and smiled."Ok!" he cried and grabbed Yuki into a hug. "Thanks dad. I don't hate the way I look anymore!" Yuki hugged his son back._ ' Why couldn't someone tell me this when **I** was young?' _Yuki thought to himself.

As they pulled out of their hug, Shuichi entered the living room."Is everything ok?" he asked, noticing the smile on Kaoru's face.

"Hey daddy, Dad said I'm hott and people are jealous of me. That's why they're mean to me!" Shuichi looked at Yuki with wide eyes and then down at his son. "That's nice hun" He said, ruffling Kaoru's hair. " You are quite handsome"

"Yeah, I am. I can probably get any girl I want...when I start liking them " With that Kaoru ran out of the living room and upstairs to his and Keisuke's room.Shuichi looked at his husband with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. "Went a little over board, didn't we?" he said as Yuki stood and began making his way to his study. Yuki shrugged.

"Atleast he doesn't hate himself anymore."

_The End_

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Well I hope you enjoyed. Yup it's all Eiri's fault Kaoru is the way he is.lol But it's better than having low self-esteem,right? Well I think so. Chapter 9 of "Fame unwanted, Family unwanted" will hopefully be posted by the end of this week. I working my butt off to get it done lol

Thanks for reading.

Until the next fic...

Zaijian


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